Moonlight Serenade
by Kari-chan-06
Summary: Christmas is a time when miracles really do happen. The team is in for some surprises and they´re getting more than they have wished for…
1. Addition

Moonlight Serenade

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Christmas is a time when miracles really do happen. The team is in for some surprises and they´re getting more than they have wished for…

* * *

1) And One Makes Five

It was one of those Monday´s again. It wasn´t just any Monday, but the last week before Christmas. Anthony Dinozzo yawned and stretched as he tried to wake up enough to concentrate on his work, but failed miserably. The lack of sun and light was slowly getting to him –like every year during the winter, but for some reason it seemed worse this year. He glanced over at the woman who sat at the desk across from him, typing something. "How come you´re never tired?" He asked and she looked up.

Ziva tilted her head. "Why should I be tired?" She inquired and noted the dark circles under his eyes. "Maybe you should try to sleep at night instead of taking girls out on a date." She added and watched how McGee disappeared behind his desk, obviously laughing.

"That´s not funny, probie! I do sleep, but this dark weather is making me tired." Dinozzo complained and yawned again. Only seconds later he shot up when a steaming cup was put onto his desk.

"You should try some coffee, Dinozzo. Maybe that would help you to get your reports done on time." Gibbs said as he walked over to his own desk. "McGee, you need to turn your desk –we´re going to put in another one." He added and got three surprised looks from his team.

"Another desk?" Tony echoed surprised and sat up straight. "New probie?" He wondered and already started to make plans about how to drive the new agent crazy. He had done the same with McGee, but the younger agent had somehow made it through this time and was now a full field agent. Still, his nickname stuck to him like chewing gum to cheap carpet.

Gibbs turned towards Dinozzo. "Actually, we´re getting an additional agent, Dinozzo –we´ve been keeping up good, but recently there´s a lot more cases and we will do better with another set of eyes, ears and brains on the team." He explained and took a file out of his drawer. "The director wants us in her office at 11 am sharp –so get that desk in here now."

McGee obediently turned his desk far enough that they could fit another desk into the office and watched Tony doing the same. "Where am I going to put all my stuff now?" The older agent complained and looked at the boxes which had been hidden beneath the desk before.

"Why don´t you leave it at home, Dinozzo? You´ve got more stuff under your desk than I have in my basement." Gibbs was standing right in front of him and had his arms folded in front of his chest. "If I see any of this here tomorrow, you will find it in Abby´s disposal bin or in one of Ducky´s coolers. Is that clear?"

"Yes, boss. Crystal clear." Tony replied and started to move his belongings towards the wall. He had just piled everything up when he heard Gibbs calling his name. When he turned, he noticed that the whole team was already half way up the stairs that lead to the director´s office. He hurried after them and was rewarded a slap up the back of his head. "What was that for?"

Gibbs didn´t answer, but walked right into the office. Jenny Shepard stood near the window and seemed to be looking at something at a distance. "Ziva, would you close the door, please?" She said after a moment and waited until the lock clicked shut. "Have a seat, everyone."

All four agents sat down at the large table in front of the large desk and waited. Tony wondered why Shepard wanted all of them here today. Usually she would call Gibbs up, tell him what he needed to know and he would relay the message to the rest of them. Today it was different though and he could only guess why.

"I take it you know that you will have a fifth agent on your team. I expect you to be absolutely professional about this. Dr. Mallard and Miss Sciuto have not been informed so far, but I believe you are going to fill them in shortly." She said, looking directly at Gibbs. "Now, the reason why you are here isn´t that simple. I must ask you to keep all that is said here to yourselves for the time being. I am still not completely sure whether this is a good idea or not, but fact is that you have too many cases open and not enough people to close them all at once. If this is not working out, one of you will have to got –and no, agent Dinozzo, it doesn´t necessarily have to be the one who came last."

All four were following her words highly concentrated. McGee wondered what this was about. After all, new agents usually just turned up at the office in the morning and were integrated into a team within a few days. He wasn´t quite sure what to make of this, but he didn´t get the time to follow his thoughts to the end as Shepard continued to speak.

"I did not like the idea of this whole thing –I still don´t like it, but it has been decided on much higher grounds. I´m just warning you to behave yourselves." Jenny walked around her desk and picked up her phone. "Cynthia, we´re ready now." She told her secretary and sat down, a small smile playing on her lips as she watched the team staring at the door. The smile widened when she noted the questionmark that seemed to hover above Gibbs´ head at the moment.


	2. Christmas Present No 1

Moonlight Serenade

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Christmas is a time when miracles really do happen. The team is in for some surprises and they´re getting more than they have wished for…

* * *

2- Christmas Present No. 1

In the adjacent room, Cynthia put her phone back onto her desk and got up. "The director will introduce you to your team now." She told the agent who was standing in front of the window. For some reason, Cynthia wasn´t quite sure what to make of this. She had been working at NCIS for a long time, even before Shepard had become director and she had never heard of a team with more than four agents before. Things seemed to change, maybe for good, maybe not. Maybe it was a trial to see how many agents one could put into a team without them beating around on each other.

Still lost in thought, she opened the wooden door to Shepard´s office and was met by four puzzled looks from the agents who were seated at the table. Without a word, Cynthia stepped aside to let the agent in. She had not quite closed the door when she heard some strange sounds, which reminded her of children on Christmas day. With a smile, she returned to her desk and continued typing her letter.

Inside the director´s office it was silent enough to hear a pin drop. Ziva wondered why her three male colleagues were just staring with their mouths hanging wide open. Thinking that this was a rather rude welcoming, she got up and held her hand out to the woman who had come in. "I´m Ziva David. Nice to meet you." She said and was greeted by a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you too." The other woman replied and took her hand. "I´m Kate. Kate Todd" Her voice was clear as water in a crystal spring and it was silent again for quite some time.

McGee still stared at the two women in disbelief. His mind was racing and he knew that if he closed his eyes right now, he would see the events on that rooftop again. Without really noticing, he got up and walked over to Kate. He wanted to say something, but his throat seemed dry as the sand in a desert. Ziva walked past him and returned to her seat. "Good to see that Tony didn´t manage to scare you out, Tim." She told him after a moment. The sound of her voice was enough to break through his thoughts.

He gave her a hug and smiled. "I can´t believe you´re here." He mumbled and felt someone tapping his shoulder. Stepping aside, he noticed his two collegues right behind him. Tony shoved him aside and looked at his former partner.

"It´s like a miracle to see you again, Katie." He said and received a death glare from her. He chuckled and hugged her too before she could reply anything. They would have much time to banter again, something he had missed a lot during the last two years. Her brown eyes were sparkling with moisture and he let go of her before he would make her cry.

Gibbs had looked at his agents and then at Jenny, who stood leaned against her desk with a smile. She nodded to him as if to say that it was his turn to welcome his new-old agent home. He stepped up to Kate and looked into her mocha brown eyes. "Welcome home, Kate." Was all he could manage and wondered why this was getting to him so much. Maybe it was because it was like she had come back from the dead. Maybe because this was what he had prayed for when his wife and daughter had died almost 10 years back. He put his professional face on, but deep inside, he felt something breaking, like a jar that had bottled up some feelings for a long long time.

Kate smiled at her boss when she noticed that this was more to him than just some agent coming out of an undercover assignment. "It´s good to be back. I´m sorry if it caused you trouble or even hurt you. That´s not what I wanted." She told the four who sat at the table. "Before you ask, I can´t tell you where I´ve been -it was an undercover assignment of several agencies. And a long one on top of that, but maybe if it comes to an end soon, I´ll be happy to tell you all about it." She looked at Shepard, who was still smiling at the scene.

"Let´s just say it was our turn to send someone and hopefully everything will be over soon." The director said and tilted her head a bit. "Now, are you going to stay here all day or will I get my office back at some point?" She asked after a moment and watched the whole group walking out. She sighed relieved, but she also knew that this was not the end of it. Christmas was just around the corner and she was determined to make it something very special this year. It wasn´t just for her own sake, but for that of a lot more people. She knew what it meant to be undercover -she had done it several times during her career, but doing a long term mission was something really unique. Most agents only got one in their whole life.

Getting Kate Todd back to NCIS hadn´t been easy. Most undercover agents were relocated after their assignment and had to start all over again as they had died for everyone they had known before the assignment. It had taken her two months to persuade both the FBI and the CIA to let Kate return to her old life. Only because the mission was nearly completed, they had agreed. This way, it was something like a Christmas present for Gibbs´ team. The first one at least.


	3. Reunion

Moonlight Serenade

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Christmas is a time when miracles really do happen. The team is in for some surprises and they´re getting more than they have wished for…

* * *

3- Reunion 

Kate followed her colleagues into the bullpen. It had surprised her a bit how Gibbs had reacted. On one hand she had seen the surprise in his eyes, but on the other side she had hoped that he would show this a bit differently. Tony had surprised her as well –instead of being lost for words he had started another round of bantering immediately. For some reason it felt like she had never really left. She came to a stop in front of the new desk which was placed right between McGee´s and Ziva´s –and therefore right in front of Gibbs´.

Gibbs sat down at his desk and watched how Kate got settled at her new desk. His thoughts were still trying to catch up with the recent events. This was almost too good to be true. Kate had been something like the soul of the team for two years and her sudden disappearance had torn a hole into this constellation. Eventhough Ziva fit in great, she had never been able to fill that gap completely. "Dinozzo, I want that report in an hour, have Ziva help you with it. And McGee, where´s that whatever-you-call-it you wanted to put in my computer?" He looked around the office and smirked a bit when he noticed how the three mentioned agents suddenly got really busy.

"On it, boss." Came the answer from Tony, who pulled out a file immediately and set to work. McGee looked up as well and grinned. "It´s called DVD drive, boss. I got it right here, but you´ll have to let me sit at your desk to put it in." He said and waited for the older man to get up.

Kate looked up when a shadow fell across her desk and found herself looking into a pair of blue eyes. She quickly looked down, afraid that her eyes would give something about her secret away, but he didn´t notice. "I´m going down to see Ducky about the last case. Why don´t you go and see Abby. As far as I know she doesn´t know yet or does she?" He then said and waited for her to follow.

With a smile, Kate got up and walked up to the elevator. She felt her heart beating stronger at the thought of seeing her best friend again –and Ducky of course. Once the doors had closed, Gibbs hit the emergency stop and looked at her. "Will you tell me about the last two years, Kate?" He asked and noticed that she kept evading his eyes.

She shook her head. "I can´t. I wish I could, really, but it´s not time yet. I hope you still trust me, but everything will be all right soon and then I can tell you everything you want, Gibbs. Okay?" She replied and hoped that he wouldn´t try to dig any deeper. All the information she had gathered in the last two years were vital to the undercover operation that was still on and eventhough some of the things she now knew were things she´d love to tell him, she just couldn´t. There was more at stake than just Gibbs being mad at her, much more.

He didn´t say anything, but hit the switch again. A few seconds later the elevator came to a stop and he walked out, turning left towards the autopsy room. Kate remained inside the elevator for another two seconds before she took a left turn and walked down the hallway towards the lab. She could hear the music through the closed door already and smiled a bit. It was a CD she had given Abby for her birthday three years ago. Eventhough the music was already outdated, it made her smile to hear those songs again.

She spotted the lab technician at her computer, typing something that appeared to be a program or something. The music wasn´t as loud as she remembered it, but still Abby didn´t notice her coming in. She stepped up to the desk and put her hands over her friend´s eyes. "Guess who." She said and Abby froze in the middle of typing another line.

"Ziva!" The goth tried, but didn´t turn around yet. She waited patiently for an answer as it seemed. Kate smiled. "Not Ziva." Abby then said as she obviously realized that it had to be somebody else. She didn´t say anything for about a minute before she brought herself to say the name. "Kate?" It was more a question than really a guess and from the tone of her voice it was obvious that it cost her a lot to say that name.

The hands were removed and Abby slowly turned the chair around. When she found herself face to face with Kate, she felt her jaw dropping. "But…KATE!" The next second she had jumped up and hugged her friend. "You´re here! Tell me I´ve not just fallen asleep and this is a dream!" She bounced up and down, smiling broadly.

Kate smiled too. "It´s not a dream, Abby. I had to go undercover, sorry for all the trouble, but I had no choice." She told her and noticed the sparkle in the goths eyes.

"Wow, that´s so great! What did Gibbs say when he saw you? C´mon spill it!" Both sat down at the desk and Kate filled Abby in as far as she could without giving too much away. About five minutes later the doors to the lab opened again and two men walked in. "Hi, Ducky, Hi, Gibbs." Abby greeted them immediately.

It wasn´t that he had not been surprised a lot in his life, but this was certainly one of those surprises that would never be forgotten. Ducky looked at the woman who sat next to Abby and raised an eyebrow. "Now, Jethro, do you mind to explain that miracle to me, my friend? If my memory is functioning correctly, I recall performing the autopsy and attending the funeral of Caitlyn almost two years ago." He then said and walked up to greet her at the same moment.

Gibbs tilted his head a bit. "I hope she will explain it to all of us soon." He simply said and then watched the last step of the reunion of his team. For some reason it felt good to know that even after all these years, he had not lost a single agent in the line of duty.


	4. Secrets

Moonlight Serenade

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Christmas is a time when miracles really do happen. The team is in for some surprises and they´re getting more than they have wished for…

* * *

4- Secrets

Two days had passed since Kate had suddenly reappeared and somehow it seemed like she had never really left. Gibbs watched from his desk how Tony started just another banter with his partner while McGee was keeping his head low and tried to look occupied. "Hey, probie, remember when you got stuck in…" Dinozzo started and Gibbs rolled his eyes. He knew where this was heading and he was not willing to listen to that story again.

"Dinozzo, what you got on that missing PO?" He barked and watched with satisfaction how three of his four agents almost jumped at the sound in his voice. Only Ziva had not moved and was still reading something that lay on her desk. "Officer David, anything from your contacts yet?" He inquired and waited until she looked at him.

"Nothing so far, but I will tell you when I hear something new." She replied and turned her attention back to the file. After another minute, she frowned slightly and looked at Kate, who was now writing something on a notepad. Making sure that the rest of the team was busy, Ziva opened the software for instant messages and typed in a short message.

It only took a few seconds until the head of the other agent shot up in surprise and their eyes met for a moment. Ziva nodded towards the restrooms and Kate nodded. "I´ll be right back, Gibbs." She told the older agent and walked through the office, disappearing behind the blue door. Ziva leaned against the sink and counted the seconds. She had made it to 26 when the door opened again and she found herself face to face with Kate.

"How do you know about that?" Kate asked immediately with a rather aggressive tone in her voice. Actually, it might not have been aggression after all. Fear could also sound that way and Ziva was not sure which one it was here. "If anyone finds out, it will compromise the whole assignment." She added after a moment and took a few deep breaths. "Tell me you didn´t tell anyone else."

Ziva looked at the other woman and nodded. "Nobody else knows. Director Shepard informed me yesterday because she needed me to contact someone from Mossad." She explained and noticed that Kate relaxed a bit. "I´ve been thinking about it and if one thing is for sure it´s the fact that this will cause much more trouble than your return to NCIS."

"I´m aware of that. That´s the reason we´re taking it really slow. I wasn´t out there for two years protecting those people without ever thinking about the impact it would have once the whole thing is over. It will cause one huge chaos, but it´s worth it." Kate then said and leaned against the wall. "I´ve been asking myself how I would react if I was in that situation, but I never found an answer to that. It´s almost Christmas and if we´re lucky, the whole thing will be over within the next two days. That´ll be enough time to get everyone back to where they belong."

Ziva nodded. "I hope so. Let´s go back or Gibbs will send McGee in here to see what is going on. And remember, no word to anyone about this." She turned and walked out of the restroom again, taking the direct route to her desk without even looking at the rest of the team. From the corner of her eye she noticed that Kate came back too. And much to her surprise, there was not a sign that something was awkward. At least for the moment, nobody would know that both of them knew about the secret that would be unveiled sooner or later.

For the rest of the day it was rather quiet in the bullpen. Abby came in around lunch, announcing that none of the samples had yielded any result so far. Gibbs had sent her back to her lab to do all the tests again, which wasn´t really surprising for any of them. He seemed a bit edgy these days, maybe because Christmas was coming up fast, but nobody really knew.

It was 4:25 pm when the phone on Kate´s desk started to ring. She picked up the receiver. "NCIS, Todd." There was silence for a moment before she heard the voice of Director Shepard. She listened for a moment, then nodded. "I will be right there, director." She put the receiver back down and shot a look at Ziva to tell her that both of them were wanted upstairs.

Ziva got up and looked at Gibbs, who merely raised an eyebrow. "Don´t be too long." He muttered and turned his attention back to the report Dinozzo had just handed to him. Both women walked up the stairs and grinned at each other when they heard Gibbs complaining about the preliminary report.

Jenny Shepard waited for them in her office and motioned them to take a seat. "I just got a call from the FBI. Operation snowbird is finally over." She told them and both nodded, obviously relieved. "You are both aware what this means. Our witnesses will all be moved back and most of all, we can finally put a lid on this whole mess called undercover mission. We will have a debriefing on Friday at 9 am and I would like both of you to be there. I know it´s the day before Christmas, but you know it´s important London Two Beta will return with a priority flight and hopefully be here as well." She added and received two questioning looks. "I would ask one more favor of you… As we know about the impact this is going to have, could you please talk to Dr. Mallard tonight before you leave. He should know, just in case."

Kate and Ziva nodded in unison and got up again. Shepard simply looked at them, which was a sign that they could leave. All three of them knew that the rest of the week would hold a lot of surprises for everyone. "I can´t imagine what will happen on Friday." Kate said as both walked into the elevator to head down to autopsy. "Maybe Ducky can help us a bit. I mean, if anyone can, it´s him."


	5. Debriefing

Moonlight Serenade

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Christmas is a time when miracles really do happen. The team is in for some surprises and they´re getting more than they have wished for…

* * *

5- Debriefing

Another day had passed. It was Friday morning and eventhough it was barely 7 am, both Ziva and Kate were already at the office. They read files or wrote reports that had not been done yet, but once in a while they shot a glance at each other. Gibbs wasn´t there yet, but if he had been, he would have been wondering about their behavior for sure.

At 8 am McGee and Dinozzo arrived as well. "Good morning, ladies." Tony greeted his co-workers and threw his backpack behind his desk. "What do all of you think about a little Christmas party? I mean, tomorrow is actually Christmas and I haven´t seen more than a few cookies around this place." He then added and grinned when he found that he had their undivided attention.

Ziva tilted her head. "I´m not that familiar with your traditions, but it sounds nice." She said and shot Kate a look. The other woman nodded slightly, then turned to Tony too.

"Yeah, sounds great Dinozzo, but you´ve got to bring the tree." She said with a smile as everyone else chuckled about this idea.

"Why not say I bring the tree and you get back to work?" A voice came from behind them and all jumped in surprise. "There is a christmas dinner held at the fleet yards, so if anyone wants to go there, that´s okay too." He added and when the four agents turned to face him, he quickly walked over to his desk.

McGee raised an eyebrow, but settled back at his desk at well. He opened an instant message to his three co-workers.

TMcGee: _Wow, he´s really acting strange, don´t you think?_

KateTodd: _I think so._

ZivaDavid: _Definetely._

TDinozzo: _Then we´re doing our own Christmas party here?_

The answer didn´t come over the messages, but from three nods around him and Tony grinned. This would be a nice little party. "Boss? Can we invite Ducky and Abby too?" He asked and only got a short nod from the older agent. This was really a strange day somehow.

They continued to work on their reports and other things until both Kate and Ziva got up. They had spotted Jenny Shepard coming down the stairs and knew that she was coming to get them for the debriefing. Gibbs looked up when a shadow fell across his desk. "I need Agent Todd and Officer David for a moment, Jethro. You don´t mind, do you?" She asked and was rewarded a glare.

Gibbs merely shook his head and continued to stare at something on his desk. Shepard looked a bit closer and sighed. "I thought you said you wouldn´t bring that picture to work again." She said softly and got yet another death glare from him.

"Not your business, Jen." He growled and waited until she turned towards the rest of the team before looking at the picture again. It had been taken a little over 13 years ago. There was a girl of about 7 years and a woman, both smiling, their red hair glistening in the sunlight. He felt his heart contract when he remembered the day it had been taken and quickly put it back into his drawer. It still hurt too much, no matter how much time had passed and it got worse around Christmas.

"Boss?" McGee´s voice brought him back to reality and he noticed that the three women had already left the office. "I was asking if we should ask Abby to bring her stereo up here." He asked again and was a bit surprised that Gibbs had not heard him the first time. Usually, the older agent had ears like a bat and nothing ever came past him.

Gibbs merely nodded and turned his attention to the news that were flashing across the plasma TV. He needed distraction to gather his thoughts and tried to think about the boat in his basement. He was almost finished, it only needed a few more finishing touches before he could finally bring it out the following spring.

Upstairs a group of 10 people had assembled in MTAC. Two men from security were standing outside the door with strict order not to let anyone pass. The director had even changed the password and retina scan-list so that nobody could walk in on them during this meeting. It had been hard enough to bring everyone into the building without anyone noticing, but they had succeeded.

Shepard looked around and smiled slightly. "First of all, I would like to thank all of you for being here today. We´ve come through some rough times and I´m glad that it´s finally over." She nodded at Morrow, who had come as well since he had been in charge at NCIS when this whole mission had taken shape.

The man returned the nod and gave the technician a sign to set up a connection to another office that lay in an adjacent building. A picture came up on the screen and all turned around. "First of all, I´d like to thank everyone for their patience and dedication to this assignment. We wouldn´t all be here if it wasn´t for all those agents and helpers who were involved. It is my pleasure to announce that Enrico Cordez, Julio Parro and Valencio Sandoz have been arrested a few days ago and that the drug ring they had built up is lying in pieces. We estimate that there were about 300 more involved with this, but since we got the three heads, we will most likely get the rest as well. Well done, everyone." He said and it was obvious that he was proud.

Jenny turned towards the screen. "If it hadn´t been for you, we wouldn´t have gotten them. I´m just sorry it took so long." She replied and turned back to the rest of the group.

For another hour there was much to talk about and when Ziva and Kate finally stepped out of MTAC, they almost ran into Gibbs, who seemed rather annoyed. "What is this all about?" He immediately asked them, then turned towards Shepard who had come out after the two agents. "Jen?" He inquired, but she merely shook her head and walked towards her office. He couldn´t see that she was smiling and if he had seen it, he would probably not understand why.


	6. Let´s Dance

Moonlight Serenade

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Christmas is a time when miracles really do happen. The team is in for some surprises and they´re getting more than they have wished for…

* * *

6- Let´s Dance

The rest of the day had passed rather quickly, probably because all of them tried to stay out of their boss´ way for most of it. Around 4 pm he had left the office without another word. Ziva and Tony drove to the closest store to buy something to eat while McGee and Abby decorated the squad room. Kate announced that she would be gone for an hour to get something for the party as well and left a few minutes before Gibbs reappeared.

He had indeed gotten a large christmas tree and carried some boxes too. They held all kinds of decoration which Abby and McGee immediately grabbed from him. Gibbs sat down at his desk and looked around for a moment. The lights were dimmed and there were some candles burning on several desks and file cabinets. It actually looked a bit like something out of a Christmas movie. As he watched his team decorating, he felt his heart ache. Christmas had lost its magic, at least in his world. He didn´t want to spoil their fun and had decided to play along, but deep inside, he just couldn´t bring himself to enjoy this party.

It was around 6:30 pm when the whole squad room had transformed into some kind of winter wonderland with a huge Christmas tree in the middle of it. McGee had set up the stereo from Abby´s lab and some Christmas CD was playing. The smell of cookies and eggnog mixed with that of coffee and cinnamon candles. That was what Kate saw first when she returned to the office and it made her smile. In the years before she had gone undercover, they had never really celebrated Christmas here at work and somehow it had a nice touch as everyone got a chance to be more himself than usually around here.

She put her purse and coat away and grabbed two cups of coffee, placing one of them in front of Gibbs. "That´s a nice tree. Who did the decoration?" She wondered and waited for him to look up. From the look in his eyes, she could easily see that he wanted to leave, but held himself together. It was something she had not seen from him for a while and somehow it made her sad too.

"McGee and Abby did." He replied and took a sip of coffee. His thoughts drifted back to a time when he had loved Christmas most of all the holidays. A time when he had been thrilled once the first decoration was put up throughout the house. Now there was not even a single piece of decoration around the house. He had thrown everything away a long time ago. Back when his life had become senseless and empty.

Another person stepped up to his desk and he raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What brings you here, Jen? I thought you would be at the fleet yards." He said and watched her taking a cup of eggnog from Dinozzo.

She smiled. "I thought I´d like it a bit quieter this year. You know how dinner with the whole lot of agents is." Shepard replied and leaned against his desk. "I had no idea your team can organize something as beautiful as this." She added and watched how McGee turned off all lights in the building. A moment later the Christmas tree was illuminated and it was a breathtaking sight. The light was soft and it created just the sort of atmosphere one would find perfect for such a day. The only thing missing was the sound of sleigh bells –with that all would probably think that this was some kind of dream.

Kate stood at another desk right behind a few file cabinets. Usually some other team was seated here, but tonight they were gone and their desks were free. Abby was setting up an electronic piano she had borrowed from a friend and then nodded. As if on cue, Ziva walked up to Dinozzo, who stood near Gibbs´ desk. "Wasn´t there a song like Dancing around a tree?" She asked and smiled at her co-worker, who frowned for a moment.

"It´s Rocking around the Christmas tree, Ziva. And yes, it´s a song." He said and scratched his head. "I don´t think I got that one on CD though, but if you´d like to dance, I´m sure we can find something." He held out his hand to her and she took it immediately.

Shepard grinned as both started a slow waltz in the middle of the room. "How about it, Jethro? Care about a dance?" She asked and noted the look of annoyance in his eyes. He didn´t like this, that much was for sure.

A few minutes later everyone had found someone to dance with and silence settled over the room as the soft tunes of winter wonderland. As soon as the song was over, Gibbs let go of Jenny and was about to step away from the free space in front of the tree when another kind of music started to play. It was the sound of a piano, soft and melodic, playing a melody that caused tears to blur his vision.

Standing in front of the illuminated Christmas tree, he felt his heart breaking as the melody continued to float through the room. He closed his eyes to keep the tears from spilling and in his mind he saw a little girl sitting at the piano that stood in the middle of the stage, beaming proudly at her parents. A Christmas tree stood next to the piano and the blinking lights seemed to slow a bit as the tunes of the moonlight sonata softly floated through the whole room.


	7. What You Wish For

Moonlight Serenade

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Christmas is a time when miracles really do happen. The team is in for some surprises and they´re getting more than they have wished for…

* * *

7- What You Wish For 

Kate stood at her desk and watched in silence how Gibbs seemed to fight against his feelings. She knew that he had feelings, eventhough some people claimed that he had not. After a moment noticed a shadow behind the tree and elbowed Dinozzo, who was about to make some comment, but she knew that this moment should not be disturbed. He almost spilled his eggnog and gave her a puzzled look, but she simply put her finger on her lips to silence him. This moment almost felt like all of them were caught in some strange, magic dream.

Gibbs opened his eyes again and looked around, noticing that everyone seemed to be watching him. It didn´t make sense, after all the room was only lit by a few candles and the christmas tree, of course. Another moment later, he realized that they were not looking at him, but at something behind the tree. Taking a deep breath, he turned around. In the shadows behind the tree stood a lone figure. The music was still playing, but only now he realized that it wasn´t coming from the stereo. It came from somewhere to his left, where Balboa´s team usually sat and all of the sudden he wasn´t sure if it was a CD at all.

His eyes were still fixed on the figure behind the tree and he took a step forward as the lights from the tree were blinding him. As he changed his position so did the light and the first thing he noticed was that it was a woman who stood there. Her red hair looked like copper in the shine of the candles and he felt his heart skipping at least a dozen beats. His mouth felt dry and he didn´t even realized that the music had stopped all of the sudden. He could hear his heart beating so loud it muted all other sounds.

From the corner of his eye he saw another shadow moving towards the first one behind the tree and the woman with the red hair was joined by another figure, slightly smaller, with blond hair. By now everyone in the room was silent enough to hear a pin drop. Gibbs closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them again, those two figures were still there. They were not a dream, but yet he didn´t understand it. It just didn´t make sense and his mind told him that he was just dreaming, that this couldn´t be.

"What…" He started, but he felt so lost for words that he couldn´t even finish the most simple question. A second later the smaller figure launched forward, stopping a few inches in front of him. Tears were rolling down the girl´s face and when she raised her head a bit, he met a pair of ice blue eyes. It felt like he was looking into a mirror and finally recognition set in and he managed to find a name to the face, eventhough he wasn´t sure where he found the strength to speak. "Kelly?"

"Daddy…oh, Daddy." Kelly clung to her father, tears streaming down her face. She had waited for this moment for most of her life and now that her dream had come true, it seemed too good to be true. At 8 years, she had not understood the reason they had to leave so suddenly, but now at almost 19, she had understood completely. Her heart had never really left him, not for a single moment.

Watching her daughter and husband reunited, Shannon Gibbs stepped up to them from where she had been standing behind the tree. She too had tears in her eyes when he pulled her into the hug as well. The family of three stayed like for a long time and it was Dinozzo who finally broke the silence. "What the hell is going on?" He asked all of the sudden, causing two heads to turn around.

"Shut up!" Both Gibbs and his daughter said in unison, causing the rest of the team to break into laughter. Gibbs joined the laughter and for some strange reason, he felt like a heavy burden had been lifted off his chest. Once he released his family from his arms, he turned towards Shepard. The director was smiling and he could have bet that her eyes were moist as well, but she didn´t make a move to explain anything just yet.

Kate and Ziva stood a bit aside, smiling at each other. They too were glad that this was over. There was no need for words as both of them knew how important this day was for all of them. People who had protected Shannon and Kelly would finally return home to their beloved ones, a huge surveillance apparatus would be torn down for good and another chapter in the history of undercover assignments was closed. London Two Beta was not in hiding anymore -both were back where they belonged. In the arms of the man who had never stopped to love them, no matter how long they had been gone.

Nobody spoke for what seemed like hours. It was Gibbs himself who broke this silence. "Well, I guess that old saying is true…Sometimes you get what you wish for." He said and smiled. They would have all the time in this world to catch up with what had happened. He actually didn´t really care about it. This Christmas was special in more than one way. For one thing, it had brought his beloved family back to him, but most of all, it had taught Jethro Gibbs that miracles could still happen.

END

A/N: Merry Christmas to all of you! Let me know how you liked the story and hang in for the rest of my stories which are not completed yet -I won´t abandon any of them!!


End file.
